Today’s Nice Price of No Dice Rolls is noteworthy for its ostentatious physical presence and an unapologetic addiction to its drug of choice—premium petrol. While like new, time and depreciation have made this Phantom much more affordable. Let’s see if it’s affordable enough.
For those of you who may not have been paying attention, last week, I was off visiting the Emerald Isle. I spent most of the time in Dublin, with a single day trip up the coast to see some ancient ruins and an amazing natural geological phenomenon called the Giant’s Causeway. In between, I drank a lot of Guinness and ate a lot of pub food.
As I was in the British Isles, I thought I’d ease back into things with a British car (yes, I know a DeLorean would have been more appropriate, but work with me), and they don’t come more quintessentially British than Rolls-Royce.
While its cars have been symbols of wealth and attainment from the start, Rolls-Royce has almost always been financially near or on the ropes. That’s generally the modus operandi for all of Great Britain’s smaller car makers. Come to think of it, that’s been the case for the bigger ones, too.
Over the decades, Rolls looked at partnerships on cars with Austin and straight buyouts of the company as a whole. The last time that happened, which was in the late 1990s, Germany’s BMW took over the reins and initiated a new model for the new Millennia that leveraged a traditional Rolls Royce name: Phantom.
The new model’s subtle yet ostentatious styling proved that BMW hadn’t monkeyed with the marque’s secret sauce, but that styling masked a ton (two-point seven, actually) of technology and convenience features previously unobtainable to Rolls buyers. Included in that was a BMW-derived V12 engine displacing a traditional 6.75 liters, extensive sound and vibration management to ensure “Rolls-Royce” levels of quiet, and a suspension that makes the car’s substantial 5,600-pound weight feel less ponderous than one might at first imagine.
Add to that wheel center caps that always keep the RR symbol upright and a Spirit of Ecstasy bonnet mascot that slips magically into the Parthenon-aping grille should danger—or a pedestrian—loom and things were fancy enough for even the most discriminating Anglophile.
Behind the lady with the weird arm placement sits the V12, offering a silky-smooth 453 horsepower and an equally impressive 531 lb-ft of torque. Paired with its standard six-speed ZF automatic that power wafts the massive car to sixty in under six seconds and guzzles petrol to the tune of around 10 miles to the gallon.
Fortunately, the Phantom has a 26-gallon fuel tank, so fill-ups will allow plenty of personal introspection and the ability to ask important questions like, “I wonder what the Poors are doing this time of year?”
This 2006 Rolls-Royce Phantom is described by its seller as a “true luxury masterpiece.” Like many works of art, this Rolls seems to have been appreciated more for its stationary aesthetic value than its comportment prowess. That’s the assumption given by its remarkably low 7,800-mile odometer reading. Despite the amazingly low miles, the car is claimed to have been meticulously maintained, being offered with a full-service history as evidence.
The pictures in the ad aren’t great and probably don’t do the car justice, but they do offer evidence of the seller’s assertion that it is in “excellent” condition. Painted in stately silver metallic over a light tan and burlwood interior, it does seem to hold up to the ad’s “as-new” description.
Hopefully all four of its Teflon-coasted in-door umbrellas are still present. Those would be hell to replace if otherwise. It does come with a clean title, so there shouldn’t be any gotchas dealing with the plebians at the DMV.
When new, the Phantom charted a new path for Rolls-Royce while reestablishing the marque as the epitome of luxury and attainment. That came at a hefty price, starting at well over $300K. Now, nearly 20 years later, that symbol of wealth and extravagance can be experienced by folks who aren’t members of the one percent. Well, maybe not so much, but still, $105,000 seems cheap in comparison to the original drive-off-the-lot cost.
What do you say? Is this Phantom worth that $105,000 asking based on its still impressive curriculum vitae and uber-low mileage? Or is its ostentation just as off-putting at that price as its original?
You decide!
San Francisco Bay Area, California, Craigslist, or go here if the ad disappears.
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